Henryk Flame
Encyclopedia
Henryk Antoni Flame (born January 19, 1918 in Frysztat, died December 1, 1947 in Zabrzeg
) was a corporal and pilot in the Polish Air Force, and a captain of the anti-Nazi, and anti-Communist resistance organization NSZ.
to Czechowice-Dziedzice
. He finished the local gimnazjum and the Technical School
in Bielsko
. In 1936 he volunteered for the army and began studying at the School for Cadets of the Airforce in Bydgoszcz, which he completed in 1939 with the rank of corporal-pilot. He was alloted to the 123rd Fighter Squadron which was stationed in Kraków
.
at the Siege of Warsaw (1939)
. On September 1, 1939 the first air battle of World War II
took place, during which the plane piloted by Flame was shot down. From then on he was under the direct command of the President of Warsaw
, Stefan Starzyński
. On the 7th of September the 123rd Squadron was withdrawn from Warsaw to Lublin
. On the 17th of the same months most of the soldiers of the squadron crossed the Romania
n border in order to avoid capture by the Nazis. However, Flame remained and most likely became part of the newly formed Reconnaissance Squadron operating on the Lwów – Zaleszczyki line.
Sometime after the 17th of September his plane was shot down by the Soviets who had invaded Poland
in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
. He organized from various groups of retreating soldiers a convoy, which at the end of September crossed into Hungary
.
In Hungary together with other Polish soldiers he was interned and placed in a temporary holding camp from which he soon escaped. However, while hiding with a Hungarian farmer, he was denounced to the German authorities who arrested him and imprisoned him in a POW camp in a part of Austria
which had been made part of the Third Reich. In the second half of 1940, thanks to the intervention of his family he was released and came back to his home town of Czechowice. According to some leftist historians, at this time he agreed to sign the Volksliste
which contributed to his release. Back home, Flame began working as a machinist at the local rail year while at the same time establishing contacts with the anti-Nazi resistance.
He started an underground organization called "HAK" which soon was merged into the Home Army (AK). The purpose of the organization was gathering intelligence and sabotage. At the end of 1943, due to the danger of an arrest by the Gestapo, together with his men he escaped to the forests where he organized an independent partisan group, which operated in the Beskid
foothills. The command of the National Armed Forces (NSZ) took notice of his actions and he received an invitation to join that organization. He agreed and in October 1944 he was sworn in as a soldier of NSZ and promoted to the rank of captain.
In April 1945 he was once again threatened with arrest, this time by the communists. As before he escaped to the forests, assumed the nom-de-guerre "Bartek" and created a partisan unit - the NSZ Group of the 7th Region of Silesia
and Cieszyn
. From May 1945 until February 1947 Flame "Bartek", led the largest anti-communist partisan group in the Zaolzie
region. At its height his unit numbered 300 men, all of whom had military uniforms and were well armed thanks to Flame's previous efforts as commandant of the MO. All together the group carried out around 340 military actions. Among the best known occurred when Flame's men marched in formation through the town of Wisła. This military parade lasted two hours and took place in full sight of the local communist authorities who could not do anything about it. This demonstration of power by the "King of the Beskid foothills", as Flame soon became known, remained a source of embarrassment for the communist authorities even after Flame's death and underlined the lack of support for communists in the Cieszyn
region.
or the village of Barut
have been proposed. After this incident the initiative passed to the secret police and Flame found himself hunted and more and more of his men were caught and killed. Individuals implicated in the annihilation of the Flames'-lead NSZ units were: Henryk Wendrowski (UB agent who penetrated its ranks), Roman Romkowski (Natan Grinszpan-Kikiel) who along with Marek Fink (Mark Finkienberg) devised and supervised the conduct of the Operation "Lawina". In 1970, Fink began to use the name Witold Jozwicki. Jan Fryderyk Zielinski, Polish Secret Police functionary stated that the murdered NSZ soldiers were buried in two pits, and further elaborated that "Neither [himself], nor other functionaries knew where [they were] going. When [they] arrived there, it became apparent that [they were] in Lambinowice. At night [they] cordoned off the entire area, and began operation in the morning. Wladyslaw 'Wladzio' Osobowski [who until 1959 was an UB functionary, and later lived in the Soviet Union] finished off the 'Bartek's' unit guard with a knife. Next, through opened windows, somebody threw two grenades into two rooms. After explosions however, most of them [the NSZ soldiers] [were] still alive. They started to run. They were shocked by both the explosions and the alcohol that they drank earlier. The whole area was surrounded, and all of them were captured. After they were detained, they were ordered to take their clothes off, and then naked, they were individually lead to a 3 meter deep pit where they were murdered; everyone with a shot to the back of the head. After the shooting, either a diesel fuel, and/or gasoline was poured on bodies, and clothes, and then it was set on fire".
Because the situation became hopeless Flame decided to give himself up. The opportunity arose with the passage of the 1947 Amnesty
on February 22 which promised underground soldiers that they would not be prosecuted (the promise was not kept). Henryk presented himself to the UB in Cieszyn on March 11, 1947. While this was regarded as quite a success for the communist authorities, many of them wanted revenge. However, for the time being because of the amnesty, Flame could not be legally prosecuted. A secret death sentence was supposedly issued by the President of Poland Bolesław Bierut himself, who could not forgive the humiliation associated with a 400 strong NSZ unit staging a military parade in Wisła.
Henryk Flame was assassinated by the local communist policeman Rudolf Dadak, in a plot organized by Henryk Wendrowski (who was also responsible for "Action Lawina" in which Bartek's men were killed). Flame was shot while dining in a restaurant. Neither Dadak nor anyone else involved was ever charged with his murder.
Zabrzeg
Zabrzeg is a village in Gmina Czechowice-Dziedzice, Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has a population of 3,107 . The village lies on the edge of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and was first mentioned in a written document in 1521, although it was probably settled...
) was a corporal and pilot in the Polish Air Force, and a captain of the anti-Nazi, and anti-Communist resistance organization NSZ.
Early life
Henryk was the son of Emeryk and Maria (née Raszyk). In 1919 the Flame family moved from Frysztat in ZaolzieZaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
to Czechowice-Dziedzice
Czechowice-Dziedzice
Czechowice-Dziedzice is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 34,867 inhabitants . It lies on the northeastern edge of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
. He finished the local gimnazjum and the Technical School
Technical school
Technical school is a general term used for two-year college which provide mostly employment-preparation skills for trained labor, such as welding, culinary arts and office management.-Associations supporting technical schools:...
in Bielsko
Bielsko
Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....
. In 1936 he volunteered for the army and began studying at the School for Cadets of the Airforce in Bydgoszcz, which he completed in 1939 with the rank of corporal-pilot. He was alloted to the 123rd Fighter Squadron which was stationed in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
During World War II
During the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, as a pilot of the squadron he fought the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
at the Siege of Warsaw (1939)
Siege of Warsaw (1939)
The 1939 Battle of Warsaw was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army garrisoned and entrenched in the capital of Poland and the German Army...
. On September 1, 1939 the first air battle of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
took place, during which the plane piloted by Flame was shot down. From then on he was under the direct command of the President of Warsaw
President of Warsaw
The Mayor of Warsaw, or more properly the President of Warsaw is the head of the capital of Poland....
, Stefan Starzyński
Stefan Starzynski
Stefan Starzyński was a Polish politician, economist, writer and statesman, President of Warsaw before and during the Siege of Warsaw in 1939.-Soldier:Starzyński was born on August 19, 1893 in Warsaw...
. On the 7th of September the 123rd Squadron was withdrawn from Warsaw to Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
. On the 17th of the same months most of the soldiers of the squadron crossed the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n border in order to avoid capture by the Nazis. However, Flame remained and most likely became part of the newly formed Reconnaissance Squadron operating on the Lwów – Zaleszczyki line.
Sometime after the 17th of September his plane was shot down by the Soviets who had invaded Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
. He organized from various groups of retreating soldiers a convoy, which at the end of September crossed into Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
In Hungary together with other Polish soldiers he was interned and placed in a temporary holding camp from which he soon escaped. However, while hiding with a Hungarian farmer, he was denounced to the German authorities who arrested him and imprisoned him in a POW camp in a part of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
which had been made part of the Third Reich. In the second half of 1940, thanks to the intervention of his family he was released and came back to his home town of Czechowice. According to some leftist historians, at this time he agreed to sign the Volksliste
Volksliste
The Deutsche Volksliste was a Nazi institution whose purpose was the classification of inhabitants of German occupied territories into categories of desirability according to criteria systematized by Heinrich Himmler. The institution was first established in occupied western Poland...
which contributed to his release. Back home, Flame began working as a machinist at the local rail year while at the same time establishing contacts with the anti-Nazi resistance.
He started an underground organization called "HAK" which soon was merged into the Home Army (AK). The purpose of the organization was gathering intelligence and sabotage. At the end of 1943, due to the danger of an arrest by the Gestapo, together with his men he escaped to the forests where he organized an independent partisan group, which operated in the Beskid
Beskids
The Beskids , ) is a traditional name for a series of Eastern European mountain ranges.- Definition :The Beskids are approximately 600 km in length and 50–70 km in width...
foothills. The command of the National Armed Forces (NSZ) took notice of his actions and he received an invitation to join that organization. He agreed and in October 1944 he was sworn in as a soldier of NSZ and promoted to the rank of captain.
After the war (in the NSZ)
On February 12, 1945, the Red Army entered Czechowice. Flame, acting on the orders of NSZ command, revealed himself to Soviet authorities and together with his men presented himself at their disposal. However, at the same time, the group retained its conspiratorial structure (the ostensible purpose was to infiltrate the Communist authorities and bureaucracy with NSZ men). Despite objections from local communist activist, Flame was made the commandant of the Czechowice milicja (MO). Realizing the orders of NSZ command he put his own men in charge of the police force and hired other anti-communists into the militia. At the same time he began stockpiling weapons knowing that sooner or later a confrontation with the real communists was inevitable.In April 1945 he was once again threatened with arrest, this time by the communists. As before he escaped to the forests, assumed the nom-de-guerre "Bartek" and created a partisan unit - the NSZ Group of the 7th Region of Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
and Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
. From May 1945 until February 1947 Flame "Bartek", led the largest anti-communist partisan group in the Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
region. At its height his unit numbered 300 men, all of whom had military uniforms and were well armed thanks to Flame's previous efforts as commandant of the MO. All together the group carried out around 340 military actions. Among the best known occurred when Flame's men marched in formation through the town of Wisła. This military parade lasted two hours and took place in full sight of the local communist authorities who could not do anything about it. This demonstration of power by the "King of the Beskid foothills", as Flame soon became known, remained a source of embarrassment for the communist authorities even after Flame's death and underlined the lack of support for communists in the Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
region.
Operation "Lawina"
In September 1946 in Operation Lawina, organized by a secret police mole in Flame's unit, the UB convinced him and many of his men that they could be transported to the American zone in Germany. In actuality while waiting to be transported out of Poland, around 200 of his soldiers were first drugged, then stripped and taken into the forests and murdered. "Bartek" himself escaped from the transport when he realized that something was not right. The exact place of the execution site is unknown but the forests near Łambinowice, HubertusHubertus
Saint Hubertus or Hubert , called the "Apostle of the Ardennes" was the first Bishop of Liège...
or the village of Barut
Barut
Liebenhain is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jemielnica, within Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately east of Himmelwitz, north-east of Groß Strehlitz, and east of the regional capital Oppeln....
have been proposed. After this incident the initiative passed to the secret police and Flame found himself hunted and more and more of his men were caught and killed. Individuals implicated in the annihilation of the Flames'-lead NSZ units were: Henryk Wendrowski (UB agent who penetrated its ranks), Roman Romkowski (Natan Grinszpan-Kikiel) who along with Marek Fink (Mark Finkienberg) devised and supervised the conduct of the Operation "Lawina". In 1970, Fink began to use the name Witold Jozwicki. Jan Fryderyk Zielinski, Polish Secret Police functionary stated that the murdered NSZ soldiers were buried in two pits, and further elaborated that "Neither [himself], nor other functionaries knew where [they were] going. When [they] arrived there, it became apparent that [they were] in Lambinowice. At night [they] cordoned off the entire area, and began operation in the morning. Wladyslaw 'Wladzio' Osobowski [who until 1959 was an UB functionary, and later lived in the Soviet Union] finished off the 'Bartek's' unit guard with a knife. Next, through opened windows, somebody threw two grenades into two rooms. After explosions however, most of them [the NSZ soldiers] [were] still alive. They started to run. They were shocked by both the explosions and the alcohol that they drank earlier. The whole area was surrounded, and all of them were captured. After they were detained, they were ordered to take their clothes off, and then naked, they were individually lead to a 3 meter deep pit where they were murdered; everyone with a shot to the back of the head. After the shooting, either a diesel fuel, and/or gasoline was poured on bodies, and clothes, and then it was set on fire".
Because the situation became hopeless Flame decided to give himself up. The opportunity arose with the passage of the 1947 Amnesty
Amnesty of 1947
The Amnesty of 1947 in Poland was an amnesty directed at soldiers and activists of the Polish anti-communist underground, issued by the authorities of People's Republic of Poland. The law on amnesty was passed by the Polish Sejm on February 22, 1947. The actual purpose of the amnesty was the...
on February 22 which promised underground soldiers that they would not be prosecuted (the promise was not kept). Henryk presented himself to the UB in Cieszyn on March 11, 1947. While this was regarded as quite a success for the communist authorities, many of them wanted revenge. However, for the time being because of the amnesty, Flame could not be legally prosecuted. A secret death sentence was supposedly issued by the President of Poland Bolesław Bierut himself, who could not forgive the humiliation associated with a 400 strong NSZ unit staging a military parade in Wisła.
Death
On December 1, 1947 in ZabrzegZabrzeg
Zabrzeg is a village in Gmina Czechowice-Dziedzice, Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has a population of 3,107 . The village lies on the edge of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and was first mentioned in a written document in 1521, although it was probably settled...
Henryk Flame was assassinated by the local communist policeman Rudolf Dadak, in a plot organized by Henryk Wendrowski (who was also responsible for "Action Lawina" in which Bartek's men were killed). Flame was shot while dining in a restaurant. Neither Dadak nor anyone else involved was ever charged with his murder.